A Special Kind of Love
by Calator
Summary: This story is about the prodigious tennis boy of 12 years of age and the love that will bloom between him and his wooden block of a sempai. Oh, did I mention that the prodigious boy of 12 years of age was... well, blind? tezuryo It's me! lustbader064!
1. Normal Day

**A Special Kind of Love **

**by Calator (formerly lustbader064)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.**

**Chapter 1- Normal Day**

On that peaceful Sunday afternoon, Tezuka Kunimitsu was running an errand for his dear mother. He just exited the grocery store when he bumped into a boy whose height barely past his shoulder.

He was rereading the list his mother gave him, making sure that he did not miss any items on the list that he did not see the boy in front of him. Both of them belongings fell to the ground and Tezuka was quick to notice his mistake.

"Ah, sorry for bumping into you," he apologized, bending down to pick up their things. When he had gotten half of the objects on the ground, he noticed that the boy had yet to move as he stood there in the middle of the road doing nothing.

"Are you alright?" Tezuka asked the boy, worry creeping into his voice as the boy had his head down and his bangs covered unfocused golden eyes.

The boy raised his head, revealing a face that made Tezuka take a sharp intake of breath because he swore that the boy _was_ a boy. He had a heart-shaped face, with rosy cherub cheeks and a proud, jutting chin. He had a tiny cute nose and elegant eyebrows that made a nice slender arch on his face. But the most striking of all were his eyes; they glimmered like liquid gold but they seemed different than everyone else's. Put aside the unique eye color, they seemed… off, not normal, like something was wrong with them.

He had gotten all of their fallen belongings from the ground and he still had that worried expression on his face and he stood up and laid a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, "Are you alright?" He asked again. This time though, the boy answered back at him with a voice as soft and sweet as cotton candy.

"Y-yes, sorry for bumping into you mister," The boy just repeated his earlier apology! And hearing the _mister_ comment, Tezuka's eyebrows gave an involuntary tick, did he really seem old? Tezuka continued to brood about this rather common misconception of his age and failed to notice the boy who continued speaking. "Um… can I have my things now please?" he said, extending out one arm into the space in front of him.

Now, Tezuka finds it strange. When someone wants to get back their belongings, they usually hold out their hand _in front_ of the beholder of their things. But this boy just placed his arm out in front of him as if… he didn't know where Tezuka was. This made Tezuka Kunimitsu wonder.

But it wasn't like him to pry into things.

He gave back the boy's things with a small sorry and the usual, out-of-politeness, 'take care' and continued on his way, leaving the lost-looking boy alone in the middle of the street.

When Tezuka came back home from his mother's errand, his thoughts subconsciously drifted back to the boy he met in the market while he was rearranging the books on his shelf. He started worrying whether the child went home safely or not and then started to wonder why he had been there in the first place.

From their fallen belongings, he saw that the thing that fell from the boy's hands was a hardbound book with absolutely no name or title at the front cover. It was weird for a book that looked so new to have no title at the front.

His eyebrows scrunched together, irritated. Tezuka so rarely got irritated and if he did it would sometimes be caused by very trivial matters. And the matter presented by the boy he met this afternoon was trivial enough. The boy was different than most people, that's for sure. But who was Tezuka to compare him to everyone else when everyone in context was actually different from everybody else?

Shaking his head to clear it, he decided that it was not good to be worrying over someone whose name he didn't even know. He took out one book from the shelves and sat on his bed and started reading it quietly under the lamp's light. The title was _'Seeing With Eyes That Cannot'_ and Tezuka couldn't help but feel the slight suspicion that the story in the book was similar to the little boy he met earlier that day.

* * *

The day started like any other normal day would for Tezuka. He woke up early, being an early-riser by nature, and freshened up in the bath before going to the dining room to eat breakfast. He finished his food then grabbed his things which consisted of his tennis bag and a book bag and left the house after bidding his family goodbye and dutifully tracked the usual steps that led to school. A few neighbors waved at him and he greeted back politely in reply. When he met with some friends along the way, he joined them, not actually participating in their conversation but stayed close and kept silent as he walked to school with them.

"Today's the start of the District tournament, right?" his best friend, Oishi asked Tezuka in an attempt at small talk.

To which, the Seigaku Tennis Club Captain replied with his usual, "Aa."

A chuckling from their sides took both their attention and everyone in their group, including the ones that walked ahead of Tezuka and Oishi look at the smiling tensai of their team, Fuji Syuusuke. "It really surprises me how articulate Tezuka is with his speech. Don't you think so?" It was a clear insult on Tezuka's part but he chose to ignore it, knowing of his friend's insatiable thirst for humor, be it sick or innocent.

"Hn," was all he could say and proceeded to head faster to the tennis courts.

"Our first opponent is nothing very threatening. We can take them easily even if we hold back. But the 2.4% increase in their training exercises is something quite unnerving and I would suggest the team to still take them seriously," the data master, Inui, said, pushing up the thick pairs of glasses up his nose as he read from his green notebook that was full of data.

"Oya! We have to be careful! Momo has a sprained ankle and he can't participate today for the games, nya. We won't have a reserve player, then. Pity that he can't play with us," Kikumaru Eiji said as he bounced around the spot in his usual hyper activeness.

Oishi just restrained his doubles partner from being so bouncy and Fuji chuckled at his best friend's childish actions with Taka laughing nervously while Inui recorded stuff in his notebook, muttering in low tones, "…hmm, Kikumaru's jump has increased by 0.64%. I have to right that down…"

Tezuka, who had walked ahead of everyone, gave all of them a stern glare which made the five regulars flinch slightly before saying in his loud, captain-voice, "Practice starts in a few minutes. Pick up your pace!"

All of them hurried their pace at their captain's order but when Tezuka heard Fuji give his small chuckle he assigned the tensai 10 laps around the court and took out the key to the clubroom from his pocket. Members started to file in one by one and no sooner, all of them were dressed for practice and all the regulars were in their jersey except for Momoshiro who had an injury.

"Practice is starting. Minna, yuudan sezu ni ikou."

"Hai, buchou!"

* * *

Morning practice had gone normally as each day's morning practice had. Well, if you count the mass of sweaty, quivering and tired bodies of well over 60 plus boys lying on the tennis grounds normal, then yes, everything was normal in today's practice.

"Oh man… I feel so sorry for you guys. I'm just glad that I only had to do push-ups and sit-ups." Momoshiro said in relief while looking at the other regulars, who were not sprawled out on the grounds like the rest of the club but nonetheless were gasping for air.

"Lucky Momo…" Kikumaru managed to wheeze out, his hands on his knees so he wouldn't topple over.

"Fsshh…" a viper-like second year hissed out the remaining vestiges of his adrenaline rush. "Baka Momoshiro." Kaidoh said in a grumble.

"What did you say, mamushi?" the other second year heard him and no sooner did the two heated rivals start bickering with each other and started up threats of beating each other into a pulp.

"I can't believe you two." Oishi said as he tried to pry Momo and Kaidoh away from each other. "How can you still have the energy to fight with each other after running so many laps!"

"Haa, minna…" Kawamura started but Fuji came up to him and gave him his racket which made everyone else stop their doings as he shouted, "BURNING! KAIDO! MOMO! SUTOPPU FIGHTIIINNNG!"

"It still passes my data how Taka-san can have a split personality after holding a racket." Inui said, pushing up his glasses and gasped in precious air.

Fuji gave a chuckle and continued watching his team mates. "Saa…"

When it seemed that they had enough rest, their captain called them to assemble.

"Minna," Tezuka started. "Today is the start of the District Tournament. A good half of the club will be permitted to join the regulars to the Tournament to cheer on for their games so I expect the remaining others to continue practicing later afternoon even if you will have no one to supervise you. If worse comes to worst, please go to Momoshiro since he will stay behind at school because of his injury. If I hear that you have been slacking in practice, I will see to it that you will be punished for your laziness." He passed a stern look at everyone in the club as he always did to get his point across before nodding to himself. "You are dismissed."

"Hai buchou!" they said in unison before dispersing in low grumbles and protests.

Tezuka watched as all of his team headed towards the club house to change and instructed the ones who were lagging behind to kindly clean up the courts. Since there were yet to be first years in their club, he decided that some of the juniors can temporarily take their job.

He just hoped that many freshmen will join their club this year. The tennis club members have been decreasing in number and he feared that soon, no one in their school will want to join the club anymore or worse, no one in their school would want to play tennis anymore.

The morning bell rang, signaling the start of classes for the day. Tezuka was in Class 3-1 and he was listening intently to their teacher as she explained that they had a new student with them for today.

"He accelerated two years above his age and he is now a third year despite being only 12 years old." Nakamura-sensei said, earning a few awed gasps from everyone in the room. Before continuing, she flipped back her thick brown hair. "I know, he's just simply amazing, right? But you know everyone, even if he is accelerated, it hasn't been easy for him. That young boy, he-"

She was interrupted by a knock on the door and she sheepishly gave the whole class an apology at their questioning looks. "Please excuse me for a moment." The teacher opened the door, revealing a man in his forties who wore a formal suit and black sunglasses.

"Ahm… good morning, sir. May I help you?"

"Is this Class 3-1?" his voice was deep as he asked Nakamura-sensei. The sunglasses he wore and the coat and tie on him made him seem like a very intimidating person.

"Yes it is. Is there something you need from my class?"

After shuffling for a bit to get something from his coat, he produced in his hand a crisp, white paper. "Here is my son's information sheet and required materials if he is to… _accommodate_ in this environment."

Then realization hit her as she took the papers. "Ah, you must be Mr. Echizen, then." She said, her eyes lighting in knowing his identity. "And where is little Ryoma, by the way?"

A soft smile graced his lips and he stood to the side to reveal a small boy that only reached below his chest. "Here he is." He said with apparent pride in his voice. "This is my precious son and I expect you, Nakamura-sensei to take good care of him. He is a special case after all."

"Of course Echizen-san. I will not let you down." She replied with confidence in her voice before gently taking the boy's hand into hers. "Ryoma-kun?" she called, trying to get his attention.

He inclined his head to her voice and greeted with a small breathtaking smile, "Ohayou gozaimasu Nakamura-sensei."

If she had not been in front of her class and this mysterious-looking father, she might have gushed out at the boy's irresistible charm and would have started giggling like a teenage girl. "My, my, he is quite polite, ne?"

"Yes, he is." The father said, the pride in his voice not lessening for a bit. Then suddenly, all trace of a smile went away from his face as he looked at his rather expensive watch. "I'm sorry but I must leave now. I have to fetch someone important at the airport."

"I understand Echizen-san. Don't worry; your son is in safe hands." She assured.

But the man ignored her and knelt down to be in level with the boy and took his son's shoulders to face him. "Ryoma-chan?" he started.

"Hai, otou-san?" his soft voice said, making the older man's heart swell with love of a devoted father.

"I'll leave you here now at school okay? Sensei said that she'll take care of you and the others here. So you'll be alright with them. I'll just go and get your brother from the airport then later we can go to that tennis match you wanted to go to. How does that sound?"

Even if his eyes were not focused on his father, his eyes twinkled with happiness and his smile widened into an overjoyed grin. "That would be great. Will onii-chan come too?"

"Of course he will."

"Then it's a promise then." The boy said, extending a hand in the air with only the pinky sticking out.

Hooking his larger pinky with his son's, he sealed their promise. "Aa."

Nakamura Ayame smiled at the adorable scene of father and son in front of her. The boy must be really precious to his family if he is this cherished by their father. She became firmer with her resolve and silently vowed to make sure the boy had a good school year.

"Goodbye otou-san. Take care on the road." Ryoma said as he waved his hand gently in the air.

"Goodbye Ryoma. You take care too, okay?"

Placing both her hands on the boy's shoulders, the teacher also waved goodbye at the student's father. "I won't let you down Echizen-san."

It was a long time before Nakamura-sensei returned inside the classroom, bringing with her a small boy. Everyone in class was confused to see the boy, although a few already had guesses to who he was but held their tongues from questioning their teacher and waited until both their teacher and the new kid had gotten to the teacher's desk.

After seeing their teacher speak to the boy first in very hushed tones, she turned to them and continued where she left. "As I said, he accelerated two years above his level and now he's a third year like all of you even though he's just 12. His name is Echizen Ryoma and I hope you can all get along with him."

Murmurs started around the class as they regarded their new classmate. Everyone was talking about how cute he looked like and some were amazed that such a boy could be so smart. But one brunette in particular kept to himself as he swore he saw the boy from somewhere else, he just couldn't remember. Then, it hit him. This boy was the same boy he bumped into yesterday at the market!

Tezuka studied the boy and found nothing different about him except that his hair was now combed nicely compared to the messy bed hair he had the day before. He really couldn't believe that this was the same helpless boy he saw yesterday. The boy didn't seem like someone who could get lost for someone so smart.

"Alright everybody, settle down!" Nakamura-sensei said to stop everyone's murmuring and chatting. Everybody immediately went silent like a switch was turned on. Obviously glad that her students were so obedient, she continued with a big smile on her face. "Okay, Ryoma-kun here is a special case and I want everyone to know that. Not only is he younger than all of you by two years, he doesn't have what the rest of us in this school has."

Her voice started to become solemn along the way as she looked at the passive boy with a pitying look. Almost all of class 3-1 raised their eyebrows at this. What would the new kid not have but they had?

Tezuka, too wondered. There seemed to be nothing different with the boy that made him _that_ unique compared to the others. But as the tennis captain studied the boy a bit more, he noticed one terrifyingly, obvious difference.

His eyes. They were…

"Ryoma-kun is special because unlike the rest of us, Ryoma is _blind_."

No one in class 3-1 expected to have a new classmate that day. And no one had expected that they would have a blind one at that.

TBC


	2. A Small Glimpse

**A Special Kind of Love**

**by Calator (formerly lustbader064)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.**

**Chapter 2- A Small Glimpse**

The mansion stretched from one end of the street to the next, making it the largest household in the area. The huge concrete walls surrounding it kept curious eyes from seeing the interior of the house. Inside was a large Victorian-styled manor with state-of-the-art facilities and features including a lush garden of many various trees and flowers decorated with a few garden figurines and fountains.

The house had been painted with cream colors and the roof a dark chocolate brown. Its windows gleamed brightly in the sunlight and glinted off the passersby's eyes. But to this one boy, he stood unaffected as the blinding light struck his eyes.

He just exited the large front double doors, a few maids and helpers were bowing towards him as he made his way to the gates where a black, sleek limousine was waiting. All of the servants' heads were lowered respectfully and they greeted out, "Please have a safe trip and good luck on your first day of school, Ryoma-sama."

The boy stopped in his walk and raised his head to show a gentle smile on his face. "Thank you everyone," he said softly, a light blush adorning his cheeks as he thought of his kind friends. He was not used to big events and gatherings and was usually shy with large crowds being who he was and also having been under the watchful and overprotective eye of his family. So having so many people seeing him off made him a bit timid.

He felt one hand touch his face and brush away his bangs that fell over his eyes and tucked it behind his ears. The hand was soft and familiar and Ryoma caught it with his one hand and said, "Okaa-san, I'm off."

The woman smiled softly at her youngest son before pulling him into a loose embrace. "Take care, okay dear?" she said to him and continued, "If you get lost again just ask the others at school, they'll help you."

Slowly wrapping his slender arms around his slightly taller mother, he replied, "Okay okaa-san; I will."

A man in a black chauffeur's outfit came running and announced out loud, "Please excuse me but Nanjirou-sama has called for Ryoma-sama. They will be late if they will not leave immediately."

They all turned to him except for Ryoma whose unfocused gaze stayed where it was. The servants stood up from their bows and the lady of the house sighed softly before releasing her son. Rinko turned to him for one last time and said with a chaste kiss on Ryoma's cheek, "Make new friends; okay Ryoma? And enjoy your first day."

"I will okaa-san. I have to go," Ryoma replied, going a step back to walk out of her embrace. "And thank you again for agreeing to this."

Seeing the happy look in her son's face, Rinko could only agree as he walked outside the gates and went into the car. He was helped inside the car by a few servants and after settling himself on the leather seat, Ryoma heard the closing of the door. He felt the car starting to move so he placed his book bag beside him only to feel something already occupying the space. He raised one of his eyebrows in question and heard a chuckle beside him. Ryoma turned to the sound and heard his father's voice.

"I'm sorry Ryoma but otou-chan is already seated here." A smile stretched across Ryoma's face at hearing his father's happy voice and he replied, "Is that so?"

An identical smile plastered itself on the man's face before he leaned forward and kissed Ryoma's brow in an affectionate manner. The man wrapped his arms around his son and said softly in his ear, "I'm so proud of you. Okaa-chan is too and so is your brother. Even though you're…"

Ryoma placed a small hand on his father's back and rubbed it slightly. He knew that his father was very protective of him because of his condition but it was really outdated because he had been sightless ever since he was born. He slightly regretted the fact that he had never known what his parents looked like or his older brother for that matter or what did the color blue, red, yellow look like. Fortunately, he had been gifted with other talents.

Even though Ryoma was blind, he had superb hearing that allowed him to differentiate two seemingly same sounds that normal people would never notice. He also had tried his hand in art but since he did not know what each color looked like, he went for sculpting instead. He could make a minutely detailed model just by his hands that capable artists' works paled in comparison.

Because of his many talents, his family made it their mission to develop each of these gifts to their best. Ever since he was young, he had already been a fluent reader in Brail- a way for blind people to read and had read almost all of the Brail-formatted books available. His father had also at one point got the inane idea to use his amazing hearing to learn martial arts so his son wouldn't be left defenseless. As usual, at whatever Ryoma tried his skills at that didn't need his eyes, he was a prodigy at it.

Ryoma continued rubbing his father's back, wondering how their chauffeur would think of them cuddling at the back of the limousine. He quickly cut that train of thought. Everyone in their employ had already seen his father cuddle him countless times and also his mother, his brother and his best friend, Kevin. This kind of scene was practically common for them now since they understood why the Echizen Family needed to constantly express their love to their youngest member.

The Echizens thought that at one point, Ryoma would fall into that depression that all less-equipped people go through because they felt helpless of their sightlessness, deafness or inability to speak. But Ryoma was better than that and doubted that he would be depressed just because he was blind. Even if their need to express their love was overwhelming, nonetheless, the boy was thankful for it. It was also a mystery why he never grew up to be a spoiled brat, with all the doting done by everyone around him. But whatever the reason, he didn't and no one was asking.

"There, there, otou-san. Being blind doesn't bother me one bit." Ryoma said softly in his ear, feeling his father starting to calm down in his embrace. Soon, the elder Echizen pulled back with an assured expression on his face even if Ryoma couldn't see it.

Sniffing slightly, "That's my little Ryoma-chan! My talented precious son," Nanjirou said with a wide grin that made him look silly wearing that black formal suit of his. He gently ruffled his son's hair as he chuckled loudly in his seat. Before long, father and son started laughing together and the driver at the front just gave his own small smile while looking at his employers courtesy of the mirror at the front.

It was only a few more minutes before they reached Seigaku and Ryoma and his father, Nanjirou continued talking with each other. Their topics ranged from food to clothes to books to gadgets to the latest trends to the most recent of events. Ryoma had on his lap his rather large book bag and Nanjirou commented on it.

"Ryoma-chan, your bag looks kinda heavy. What's inside it?"

Raising his head up slightly, Ryoma said to his father, "Just a notebook and a few books."

"A few books? All in Brail I suppose." The older man said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yup, I didn't know they had the textbooks in Brail," the boy said, looking down again to turn his sightless eyes to where his bag was supposedly at before looking again at his father with a happy glint in his eyes as he remembered something. "Otou-san, would you like to see the book I bought yesterday after we went to that tennis tournament?"

Seeing his little boy so excited over something so normal, Nanjirou replied with the same excitement in his voice, "Oh, you brought it with you? Sure! Let papa see what it is."

Quickly taking the big, hardcover book from his leather bag, he held it out in front of him- an indication that he wanted his father to take it.

With gentle hands, Nanjirou took the book and examined the old covers. It had a brown colored cover with a tan paper-like cover to protect the spine. The corners of the book were stained from possible water damage and the edges of the papers were tattered at the sides. A few dirt smudges were visible here and there and Nanjirou wiped it off, his subconscious mind reminding him of his role as the boy's overprotective father. _I have to protect him from germs!_

He opened the book carefully; wary that the book might fall apart with how old it looked. The pages were starting to yellow and the stains on its corners and edges were identical to the ones on the cover. The paper was crisp in his hands and felt powdery so he deduced that the book had just recently been repaired. His calloused fingers ran over the dots scattered around the pages and tried to make sense of the bumps he felt. But he shook his head afterwards and a soft smile graced his lips before closing the book and handing it back to his son's hands.

"What's it about? I don't understand brail as much as you and okaa-san and Ryoga do," the elder Echizen said sheepishly to his son to which Ryoma smiled back in reassurance.

"It's okay, otou-san. Brail is very hard to learn anyway," Ryoma explained to his father before answering his question, "The book is about the greatest adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Okaa-san already read it to me thousands of times but I want to read it myself for once."

Nanjirou was about to ask more questions to his son but the car came to a slow stop and the driver at the front said in a polite voice, "Echizen-sama, we have arrived at Seishun Gakuen Middle School."

Looking outside their heavily tinted windows, the older man could only reminisce of the memories that flooded his mind as he looked at his old school. Ryoma on the other hand, was trying to place his book back in his bag before his father offered to help him so they wouldn't get late on his first day.

"Come on Ryoma-chan." Nanjirou said to his youngest son as he held his arm out while stepping outside of the black limousine. Upon rising, he pulled out the sunglasses that were hidden in his coat and put it on and had also successfully fixed his slightly crumpled black suit; all the while holding on his son's hand as they both went out of the car.

Unaware of what was happening around him, he could only hear the faint rustle of the sakura blossoms, the silent breeze and the slight noise that came from the building ahead of him. He gripped his father's hand tighter and the other clenched around the strap of his bag. In a faint voice, Ryoma replied with a, "Yes, otou-san," before both Echizens walked dutifully to the main building.

Upon entering the school building, he expected a loud mass of student chatter in the corridors but his father explained that classes were starting so all of the students were at their respective classes. When they met with the school secretary, Ryoma became uneasy because she wouldn't stop from calling him 'cute'. Even if Ryoma was called cute all his life, he didn't know how to deal with it if it came from a complete stranger.

Thankfully, his father saved him from anymore embarrassment by doing something Ryoma didn't see and they walked on towards the principal's office. Leaving the reception area, the boy had faintly heard the secretary whispering what suspiciously sounded like a, 'what a creepy man,' before the door to the office closed with a faint click.

"Ah Echizen-sama, we have been expecting you. Is that your son?" Ryoma heard someone say.

The elder Echizen was talking with the school principal who sat behind his large mahogany desk and replied, "Yes, I expect that his teachers have been told beforehand of his condition?"

"Of course, of course. We'll make sure that your son will be safe and comfortable in his time in Seigaku," the old man principal said to Nanjirou with a reassuring smile on his face.

"And his papers have been arranged as expected?"

Shuffling with the papers on his desk for a bit, the principal searched for the file and pulled out a brown folder with papers inside. The old man got a pen and wrote something on a piece of paper before handing it to the elder Echizen along with a few files from the folder he had.

"These are all of the necessary papers he should have and a copy of what he will need for school as you requested. Please just give it to his homeroom teacher after you drop him off," the principal said with a smile to which Nanjirou gave a pleased nod at.

The old man pulled out another file and leafed through its contents before handing out another paper. "And here is his class schedule; in Brail as you requested."

Nanjirou took the paper gratefully before giving it to his son who smiled in return. He turned to the principal and said, "Thank you sir. I hope my son will enjoy Seigaku during his stay."

After a quick check on his watch, Nanjirou told to the man, "It seems that classes will start soon. We may as well head on to his class otherwise he'll be late on his first day." His voice was lilting and light. The elder Echizen threw a glance at his son who was getting a little fidgety at his side and continued with a chuckle, "Besides, my little boy is starting to get a little too excited in making new friends. He can hardly wait a few more minutes so we should get going already."

"Otou-san!" Ryoma said with a pout on his lips.

Both elderly men laughed at the boy before the Echizens exited his office after a few more light exchanges. The female secretary they had passed earlier waved Ryoma a, "Good bye sweetie!" before both men left the reception area with Ryoma blushing all the way to his classroom.

* * *

The door closed behind him and Ryoma could hear the noise that came from the many people in the classroom. He was led by the arm by his teacher, Nakamura-sensei to what was supposed to be the front center of the class. He felt his teacher bending down a little and wondered for a moment, why.

"We're going to have a brief introduction, okay Ryoma-kun?" Nakamura-sensei told him and the boy just replied in a soft voice, "Alright Nakamura-sensei."

After he said that, she started talking to the class and explained that he was only 12 and that he accelerated a few years. He heard a few surprised gasps from everyone and gave a small sheepish grin in embarrassment. But when Nakamura-sensei said that he was blind, Ryoma didn't expect such a reaction.

"EEH?"

Their shouts were much unexpected that Ryoma winced slightly at the loudness. The teacher noticed this and growled under her breath before she exploded.

"Koraa! Why are you shouting like that? You don't have to be so exaggerated! You're making Ryoma-kun nervous!" the supposedly sweet and good-natured teacher Ryoma had remembered speaking softly to moments ago disappeared and was replaced by this devil incarnate. He had to shy away a little as he felt a few angry sparks flying off of her.

"Aren't you ashamed? He's already blind and you're getting him scared enough as it is!" she continued her rant before hissing loudly at all of them and all of the students (sans Tezuka) cowered visibly under her terrifying gaze.

The teacher for class 3-1 was famous for her demonic alter ego despite her motherly figure. She was very overprotective of those in her class or of those students that she favored that she would help them in any way she can. Even if she was lenient with them when it concerned school-related activities, matters that were connected to the heart and relationships were something that she took hard and seriously.

"Gomenasai Nakamura-sensei..." the class apologized as a whole.

After giving her class a skeptic look, she nodded her head righteously and continued, "As I was saying, Ryoma-kun here is blind. He will need your help in getting accustomed to the school and I'm sure all of you will be able to do that, right?"

Nakamura-sensei raised a brow to emphasize her point and most of the class immediately agreed by nodding their heads vigorously to avoid another appearance of their teacher's infamous alter ego. She smiled sweetly at that and gave a regal sweep of her arm.

"Now," she paused for dramatic effect. "You can ask anything you want about Ryoma-kun, provided that he will not be forced to answer it if he doesn't want to. Is that clear?"

"Hai sensei."

Going back into her mild-mannered self, she turned to Ryoma whose face looked impassive. "Ryoma-kun, will that be alright?"

Letting a small smile to grace his lips, he replied in that heavenly voice of his, "I don't mind Nakamura-sensei."

Seeing him looking so beautiful, many of Class 3-1 already had a question in mind and couldn't wait to ask their new classmate. Tezuka Kunimitsu, a brunette who sat somewhere in the middle of the class had a slightly surprised look on his face the whole time and just couldn't seem to chase away that tingling sensation in his mouth as he fought the urge to shoot his hand right up when Nakamura-sensei gave them the go signal to ask their questions.

TBC


	3. The Target: Tezuka Kunimitsu

**A Special Kind of Love**

**by Calator (formerly lustbader064)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.**

**Chapter 3- The Target: Tezuka Kunimitsu**

"Who'll ask the first question?"

Almost the entire class raised their hands and Nakamura-sensei just randomly picked out one girl at the back because she was so overwhelmed by their eager expressions.

"Kaoruko-chan, you're up."

She was an average looking girl with brown hair in a ponytail and a pair of dark black eyes. When called to voice her question, she immediately sprung up on her seat with a wide grin on her face and was pointedly ignoring her classmates who grumbled, 'Aww, no fair…' around her.

"Ryoma-chan, right?" she started tentatively.

"Yes, it is," the boy at the front said in affirmation, another gentle smile gracing his lips that made the girl's knees go weak for a moment.

Regaining her composure, Kaoruko asked, "Since when have you been blind?"

A lot of students leaned forward in their seats to hear their new classmate's answer. All of them were curious as well as their teacher.

"Ever since I was a child, I've been blind."

"Really?" a boy at a side asked in astonishment. "So you mean to tell me that you've never seen anything in your life, ever?"

"No, I haven't."

"Don't you feel bad about it?" another student asked.

Shaking his head slightly, a soft chuckle escaped his lips and he replied, "Not in the slightest."

"Woah… you're amazing!"

They all had expressions of wonder and amazement as they stared at Ryoma. For a blind boy, they thought, he seemed to be taking life pretty well.

"Okay everyone, anymore questions?" Nakamura-sensei said to break them from their dazes. When she saw one arm shoot up, she was surprised at who owned it but otherwise called him all the same. "Ara, Tezuka-kun? Rare for you to talk."

Her student only answered with a monotonous, "Aa."

Deciding to just leave her inarticulate student with his own devices, she waved for him to say his question, telling him to, "Fire away."

"Arigatou sensei," he said politely before turning to the boy in front. "Echizen-san, this may seem like a highly personal person but…" Tezuka trailed off, making other students gulp inwardly in anticipation. It was rare for Tezuka to talk and when he did, it was sometimes very important, earth-shattering and surprising that they always had to pay extra, extra, _extra_ special attention.

"What is it?" Ryoma asked, smile still in place. "Even if it is a personal question, it will not bother me."

Looking at him for a while, Tezuka came to a decision and sighed, "Very well. I was just going to ask what your hobbies are. I am very interested to know what a blind person does in their spare time. And I'm sorry if the question may be too uncomfortable. You may not answer if you don't want to."

"No, it's nothing Tezuka-san. I'm glad I have caught your interest," Ryoma's smile grew wider and some student's blushed at the cute sight. Two small identical dimples formed symmetrical on his milky cheeks as a slight rosy tint brushed his cheeks.

The boy closed his eyes and relaxed from where he was standing and started to speak, "I like reading a lot. I know what you're thinking; I'm blind, right? I can only read books in Brail. So that means it's only a few." By now, some students were nodding their heads in wonder.

"I love Art. Because I don't know what each color looks like and I can't see what is the shade of what, I tried sculpting. It's the only Art that I know how to make." A few girls swooned at this and a few art-fanatics in the class looked determined to see his works.

"I practice martial arts. My father got me into learning it so I could know self-defense. So far, I've been able to fight off a few of my sparring partners but that is where it ends." Tezuka's eyes widened at this as so did his other classmates. A person as vulnerable-looking as Ryoma couldn't possibly be serious!

"I also play tennis." Tezuka's eyes- if possible- got even wider behind his thin spectacles and at this rate, the other students might lose their breaths with how many gasps they've been doing. "My father was a former tennis professional player and taught me how to play it. I can play by listening to the shots very well. My father says that it's a special skill only I have." Ryoma blushed hotly at his last statement in embarrassment and nearly all the women in the classroom melted like putty while the guy's didn't look very comfortable in their seats.

With a last blinding smile, Ryoma opened his eyes to reveal sightless eyes that looked very beautiful as they glinted in the soft morning sunlight. "And…" he blushed again. "I also like taking long baths. I love trying out different kinds of bath salts while bathing. It's just so very relaxing!"

Ryoma giggled out the last part and Class 3-1 seemed to be hearing the herald of angels just by listening. They were all wearing goofy grins on their faces and some looked close to drooling. It was Nakamura-sensei _again_ who first snapped out of the trance.

"OKAY! I think that's enough Questions and Answers for today! Don't you think so Ryoma?" she turned to the boy who was now looking adorably sheepish as he fiddled with the strap of his book bag.

"H-Hai," he replied weakly.

The teacher smiled sweetly at the boy before turning to her students with a less sweet curl of the lips. "For Ryoma-kun's seatmate, it has to be someone responsible and reliable."

A lot of eager students raised their hands, hoping to get the boy be their seatmate even if the seats around them were already taken. They waved their hands vigorously in the air as they called out to their sensei.

After a quick sweep over the room, her eyes fell on her ever reliable wooden block… er, brown-haired student, Tezuka Kunimitsu. He was sitting straight on his chair, not a slouch visible and his face was serious. Nakamura Ayame's lips stretched wider into a grin and called out in a lilting manner that almost sounded condescending, "Tezuka-ku~n!"

Ignoring the twitch that she thought she saw on her student's face, Nakamura-sensei watched him stood up slowly, as if cautiously before clearing his throat and said, "Hai Nakamura-sensei?

"Could you be Ryoma-chan's seatmate?"

Uproar followed her question. Everyone in Class 3-1 protested at the idea except for Tezuka whose face was as unreadable as always and with amazing vocabulary skills nearing to nil. He simply opened his mouth and one sound came out, "Haa?"

"I said, could you be Ryoma-chan's seatmate? Ryoma would need all the help he could get and I'm sure as the President of the Student Council that you would never let a fellow student have a hard time in his first day of school, right Tezuka-kun?"

Now, Tezuka's eyebrow twitched visibly. 'Don't they call this sort of thing blackmail?' he thought in his head but shook it off quickly given that his teacher had already started pulling the strings. He had no choice left but to obey like a good puppy.

"It would be of no problem, sensei."

"Great!" their teacher broke out into a happy glee as she clapped her hands in delight. "Wonderful! Ryoma-kun, he'll be your watch dog for the whole school year."

She swore that the President of the Student Council was now fighting off a seizure at the nickname… or perhaps may be twitching much, much and much more than before. She also heard a few students laugh at the legendary stoic student's new name. It was a rare occasion for them to do that because usually, Tezuka would get them for it later. The teacher herself also had a weird hobby of ticking off her adorable student for the laugh of it. She made it her duty to emit a twitch from the elegant brow at least once a week.

Nakamura-sensei gestured for Tezuka to come forward when she was sure that he could control his twitching before continuing, "Ryoma-kun, this is your classmate. His name is Tezuka Kunimitsu. He's the President of the Student Council, the Class Representative, and is the Captain of our school's very own Boy's Tennis Club. He'll be your seatmate starting today until the end of the school year okay?"

"Okay…"

Turning to Tezuka who now stood beside her at the front, she had one of Ryoma's hands in hers and she took Tezuka's too as well. She placed them with each other so they could hold hands and noticed both boys blushing furiously at the contact.

"Tezuka-kun, be a dear and lead Ryoma to the empty seat next to yours okay? I don't want him to stumble or anything."

"Hai sensei," the brunette said with defeat in his voice before leading the boy to his seat in a gentle and careful manner, making their teacher smile in content. She picked the right person.

She watched as the stoic student smiled for a fraction of a smile for the first time ever in his time in Seigaku. The teacher had to commend the boy; he was already breaking through the boy's icy exterior. It wasn't long before both would become close friends or maybe… closer than friends…

Her smile widened into a frightening leer causing some of the students who saw it to shiver. She turned around to gather her things so she could go to the teacher's room to prepare for her next class, the evil smile still on her face.

'Whoever said that I don't like yaoi?' she thought in her head, fighting back a dark chuckle that threatened to escape her lips. It would be bad for her students to know that they were her pawns for fulfilling her fantasies. A few were already suspicious with the class sitting arrangements as some of the suspected gay-people were sitting in clusters that sometimes led others to think that something was already happening underneath their desks.

As she exited her beloved student's classroom, she heard the wooden door slide close behind her before she skipped merrily to her office, smile still in place. 'How I _love _my students!' she thought as more thoughts of yaoi goodness swirled dangerously in her head.

Nakamura Ayame was definitely, a very _exceptional_ teacher.

* * *

First period for that day was Biology III.

For the first time in Tezuka's life, he found himself not paying attention to his teacher's lectures and instead found it more interesting to shyly peek at the blind boy beside him from time to time. His pen was being gripped tightly in his left hand and he somehow found it hard to breathe every time he looked at the beauty that was his seatmate.

Ryoma had his head bowed down since he couldn't even see the board and whatever their teacher was writing on it and was just diligently writing down whatever came out of their teacher's mouth into his neat notebook. Tezuka wondered if the boy could even write. He seemed to be as elegant strokes of that slim green pen formed neat Japanese characters.

The more he thought of the boy writing, he sought into it more. Wait, what if he was writing over the ones he had already written in? What if his writing somehow got a little bit mixed up and he didn't know where to write anymore? What if it got a little diagonal? Would that set off the whole neatness of his writing? More similar thoughts swirled in Tezuka's thoughts before he finally called to Ryoma softly so their teacher wouldn't hear.

"Yes?" the boy said, his bangs partially covering his beautiful golden eyes that twinkled slightly. His hand stilled with what he was writing and his head turned to where he knew Tezuka was sitting and waited for the older teen to speak.

He swallowed a lump in his throat that he didn't know when had formed and offered in a slightly shaky voice, "I could write the notes for you if you're having a hard time."

Ryoma seemed surprised by what he said for a moment before asking back, "Wouldn't that mean that you'll be taking two notes? I don't want to be a bother Tezuka-san. I can manage on my own."

"No, I don't mind. It would be my pleasure to help you in any way I can," Tezuka said with such courage and determination in his voice that Ryoma thought about the offer.

After a few moments, a small smile formed on Ryoma's lips and Tezuka found himself getting addicted to it. "If it's not a bother then… alright, I appreciate the help."

Even if Ryoma could not see it, Tezuka smiled back at him before snatching Ryoma's notes to continue what he had already written. Despite his worries, it went all down the drain as he saw how neat his notes still were. He didn't know what Ryoma's trick was but the boy didn't make himself seem like a blind person.

Tezuka shook his head before deciding with himself that Echizen Ryoma was really the most interesting person he had met in his lifetime and that being a watch dog didn't seem like a bad idea.

They breezed through the morning periods and each teacher was amazed at the new student in Class 3-1, his classmates- equally- were as smug and proud.

They all knew that he was an accelerated student but when they heard that he was blind as well, the teachers couldn't believe it. At first they felt pity for the boy but it was quickly gone when they noticed how talented he was and very capable with himself. When difficult questions were asked, it was usually only the honor student Tezuka who would answer. Now, they were two of them as the new boy- Ryoma- answered just as well as Tezuka if not a bit more knowledgeable in some areas. He became the instant class favorite and since he was an adorably cute little boy, the female teachers didn't find it hard to like him.

Tezuka had determinedly offered to write all of Ryoma's notes for every subject for the rest of the school year and Ryoma, just as determined, denied. The older teen still got what he wanted in the end with his constant insisting and because Ryoma thought that it was rude to decline help if it was offered just as he thought it was rude to take advantage of other's people's kindness (which what he thought he was doing). But Tezuka ruled it out and they settled that the older teen would do his notes if Ryoma were to share what he knew. The brunette noticed that his younger classmate was undoubtedly smarter.

The bell had rung, signaling the end of their period before lunch. The teacher gathered his things while reminding his students, "Remember to read page 22 of your text books. I expect you to translate what was written in the Activity Sheet after that page and pass it by Thursday, okay?"

"Hai…" the students replied in a drawled out way.

"Don't forget to do your homework, okay Ryoma-kun?" the teacher called out one last time, a foreign smile on his lips as he addressed his new class favorite.

"Hai, Ichijou-sensei," Ryoma replied with his usual gentle smile that continued to make his classmate's bones feel like jelly.

Imaginary pink hearts floated in the air as the 30+ year old man exited the room with a dreamy expression on his face. A few students already started to leave the room before lingering back for a bit to call a dreamy goodbye to Ryoma, "Have a nice lunch Ryo-chan!"

"Thank you, I will. You too."

They all trudged out with goofy grins on their faces as they greeted Ryoma a temporary farewell, some of his 'interested' classmates almost declaring their newfound deep love for him. The boy only smiled at more at them and made them feel like floating on Cloud Nine.

"You seem to be enjoying your first day," a voice said from his side. Ryoma whirled around and called out, "Tezuka-kun?"

"Hai, it's me. Where do you want to eat lunch?" the boy heard his older classmate ask.

"I don't know. Wherever you eat will be fine with me."

"I usually eat in the cafeteria with my friends. I'll introduce you to them."

"But… I might be imposing…" Ryoma started to sound uneasy and Tezuka for the surprisingly nth time that day, smiled. He must've already smiled his life's worth of smiles just by being with the boy. Ooh, he was quickly turning soft.

"Nonsense. They'll be glad to meet you."

"Really?"

"Really."

The boy droop his head down sadly, looking like a sad puppy for a moment before his head shot up and his sightless eyes shone brightly with determination. "Okay! I'll go."

And _again_ Tezuka smiled.

The Apocalypse is coming.

TBC


	4. The Other People

**A Special Kind of Love**

**by Calator (formerly lustbader064)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.**

**Chapter 4- The Other People**

The cafeteria was packed, as always, with hungry teenagers eager for food. A cluster fought in front of the store, almost scaring the old lady who sells their food with their predatory faces while eyeing the scrumptious snacks on sale. The lucky ones who already bought their food were already seated on the tables and eating their food in peace, once in a while chatting with themselves.

"Ne, ne Oishi! You won't guess what happened in Japanese Class this morning, right Fujiko?" Kikumaru asked his doubles partner as he glomped him while having a mouthful of melon bread, successfully sending crumbs falling on his companion's clean jacket.

"Eiji! Don't talk with your mouth full," Oishi worried like the mother hen that he was, absently brushing off the food that splattered on his uniform.

Finishing the food in his mouth with one large gulp, the redhead replied, "Sorry… well anyway, guess what happened in our Japanese Class!"

"What?"

Looking over to his ever-smiling classmate, Eiji paused for effect. "You know Mr. Fujiwara, right?"

Oishi, twitching slightly at a particular unpleasant memory of their uptight teacher, he replied with a shaky voice, "Yeah, what about him?"

Instead of Eiji continuing, Fuji said in his stead, "Mr. Fujiwara was in a strangely happy mood. He even smiled during one of the lectures." The tensai chuckled at the end of his statement, obviously recounting the event in his head.

"That is very strange indeed. Mr. Fujiwara almost never smiles. I think he and Tezuka holds the same record in frowning, actually," Inui explained while skimming through his green notebook, pushing his thick glasses up his nose as he spoke.

"Eh? Why would sensei smile? Did something funny happen?" Kawamura asked aloud, a confused expression on his face.

"Not that I remember, no. We were actually discussing the gory death of an evil warlord from the Meiji Era," Fuji explained, a wistful smile on his face as one finger tapped his cheek.

"Weird…" was the word that came out of everyone else's mouth while Kikumaru, Fuji's classmate, nodded in agreement.

They resumed eating their lunch, stopping every once in a while to discuss about something before Oishi pointed out, "Hey, don't you think Tezuka's a bit late for lunch today?"

"Come to think of it, he is. I wonder what's holding him up," Fuji said.

"Maybe he's just talking with a teacher, nya!"

"There is a 74 percent chance that that may be correct but there is also a 68 percent chance that it might be because of another reason," Inui supplied.

"Maybe Tezuka has something to- ah! There he is!" Kawamura pointed behind Fuji and Inui whose backs were to the cafeteria. There stood their brunette captain with an unexpected companion at his side.

"Nya? Who's that with him? Is that a first year? Wai! He looks so cute!" Kikumaru exclaimed almost squeaking in glee.

Fuji turned around and so did Inui, no stopping the surprised reactions on their faces as the tensai's eyes opened to reveal startled blue orbs and Inui's hand almost went slack to drop his precious notebook down the floor.

Fuji regained his composure quickly as his usual smile was back on his face and his eyes closed to their upturned slits. "Saa, I wonder why Tezuka would bring such an adorable freshman with him."

Inui too regained face as he was now adjusting his glasses in a shuffled manner as he bent down to retrieve his fallen notebook. "My data has not predicted this…" the data master muttered under his breath.

Tezuka finally reached them and they all saw that he had one arm behind the first year, as if urging him on. The small boy's head was bent downwards and they could see a glimpse of his reddening cheeks, as if embarrassed to be there with them. The captain stood as expressionless as ever but there was a lighter expression in him that Fuji and Inui couldn't place, even Oishi was uneased with his best friend's lighter attitude.

No one talked for a while and Tezuka decided to break the silence with giving a small cough. Oishi, Kawamura, Inui, Kikumaru and Fuji seemed to have been snapped out of a trance and they focused on their friend. It was Fuji who spoke first.

"Maa, Tezuka. Who is this little boy? A friend of yours?"

The brunette didn't answer for a while but first led his companion to sit on a chair and sat beside him. Only after that did he reply, "This is Echizen Ryoma. He's a new student in our class."

"Your class? He's a third year? He only looks 11," Oishi said in disbelief, not trusting his friend.

"Aa, he's actually 12. He accelerated two years."

"Waa, that's so cool! Ne, ne, you must be smart right?" Kikumaru asked the boy who remained shy throughout their conversation. The boy didn't reply, choosing instead to tighten his hands around the bento he was holding, his ears also having a red tinge as he lowered his down his head more to hide his face.

"Kikumaru, don't intimidate him," Tezuka warned the redhead, inwardly thankful that the boy couldn't see the scary glare he had on his face.

The acrobatic player shrank back on his seat, a pout on his lips. "Gomen buchou."

"Ryoma-kun, right?" Fuji asked the boy tentatively and watched as the boy raised his head slowly, revealing two golden eyes. He creased his brows and a small frown marred his features and asked the boy when he noticed that distant look he had, "Can I ask what's wrong with your eyes?"

The boy bowed his head again, shyness creeping back before he squirmed in his seat. Tezuka noticed that he was getting a bit uncomfortable and decided to take action but Ryoma answered Fuji's question before he could even do anything.

Ryoma's voice was small but all of them leaned in to hear him, "Um… I… I can't see."

"Eh? You can't see? Did you forget your glasses?" Kawamura asked the boy. "Well maybe we could borrow some from the Clinic. I'm sure there have a pair that you can use."

"N-No… that's not it."

Before they could bombard the squirming boy with more questions, Tezuka finally had the chance to step in, saying, "What he means to say is that he doesn't see anything." Pausing for dramatic effect, it was a while before he said, "Ryoma's blind."

"What?"

"Hoi?"

"Oh my…"

"Really, Tezuka?"

"Ii data…"

After they got passed the initial shock of Ryoma being blind, the third years decided to make him feel welcome and to ease up on them, to make the boy feel less intimidated.

"Ryoma-kun how is it being blind?" Kawamura asked the boy softly.

The still shy boy replied, "I… It's sometimes hard to walk and do some things by myself but I try to get by easily."

Oishi smiled at that and asked, "What are you good at then? Anything you think you do great in?"

"I can play tennis…"

"Tennis! Wai! We play tennis too!" Kikumaru exclaimed before moving across the table and hugged the boy, ignoring the warning look Tezuka gave him. "Sugoi! I can't believe you can play tennis without your eyes. I can't do that but you must be so good to be able to play, right?"

Squirming in the embrace, Ryoma replied, "I-I guess so…"

"Kikumaru!" Tezuka chided the redhead again and glared at him from his seat, which was just the seat beside Ryoma's. The acrobatic player gulped and scooted away before murmuring an apology to the captain and Ryoma. Kikumaru joined his doubles partner on the other side of the table and wept on his sleeve, complaining about the unfairness of things.

"Will you be joining our school's tennis club then? I'm sure Ryuuzaki-sensei will be able to accommodate you with your condition," Inui said from beside Fuji and still continued scribbling in his green notebook.

"I don't know… I have to ask my otou-san first," Ryoma said in a soft voice, slight disappointment in his voice thinking of not being able to join. Then he raised his head again and asked in a much more happy voice, "When is the club registration, Kunimitsu?"

Not noticing the shocked expressions on his friends' faces, Tezuka responded to Ryoma's question, "Since later this afternoon the regulars and the third year club members will have to leave for a tournament, the registration will be tomorrow the latest. So I think you can ask your father later today."

"Oh, thank you Mitsu," Ryoma said to him with that soft angelic smile again on his face as he looked off listlessly onto space.

_Again_ not noticing the shocked expressions on Oishi, Kikumaru, Fuji, Inui and Kawamura's faces, Tezuka just smiled back at Ryoma. _Smiled back_ at the boy he just met today when his friends have never seen him smile like that at them ever and was now giving the boy a soft, warm look.

Finally acknowledging the other people with them at the table, the upturned arc on his lips dissipated into a frown once more as he regarded him with an expressionless stare.

"Is something the matter?" Tezuka asked.

Nobody said anything for a while, the shock still present on their features and this time, it was Oishi who spoke first, "Tezuka… you… you just _smiled_," the disbelief in his voice was evident and the other third years nodded their heads in agreement.

He didn't understand what his friends were talking about and the brunette blinked a few times before he got what they meant. He noticed now that he really didn't smile that much in their presence or let them call him by his first name but when he met this blind boy did he actually find himself doing and letting these things done to him. But he tried to save face for himself and coughed out some imaginary phlegm out of his throat.

"Minna, I think we should eat. Our food will be wasted if we don't eat it before the bell rings," Tezuka said with a straight face, thanking all the god's he knew that he didn't stutter his words out because he was feeling pretty embarrassed right now.

All of them responded with a lame, "Y-Yeah," while Ryoma smiled again and proceeded to open his lunch…

… with the help of Tezuka of course…

"Gomen Mitsu for troubling you."

Unconsciously again, the captain smiled at the cuteness of things and opened the cloth that covered his _friend's_ bento, "It really is no problem."

Tezuka Kunimitsu, known stoic captain of the year, smiled… AGAIN.

Jesus Christ Bananas… Apocalypse **had **arrived…

…in the form of a notorious Fuji Syuusuke and devious Inui Sadaharu.

Oh dear Lord.

* * *

The halls leading to the third year's Art room at the moment had a spectacular sight to behold. Their resident sports celebrity aka honor student aka student council president was tagging along a boy who looked to belong more in a middle school. This was what those 'Moe' girls would call in their chats a: "HHWW"

Holding Hands While Walking

His emotionless face would practically intimidate everyone to cut open a path open for him but the rather surprising sight of the brunette hand in hand with a younger man had shocked them so much that they parted more than necessary that it looked like they were stuck to the walls.

The pair passed by them quickly, most of them noticing the frown that appeared on the captain's face before he disappeared behind the wooden doors with his friend. Gossip started immediately as the girls chatted with themselves while boys talked timidly about the issue.

Who was the new kid?

TBC


	5. Art Class

**A Special Kind of Love**

**by Calator (formerly lustbader064)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.**

**A/N: **And here's the long awaited, Chapter 5! I hope you enjoy it because I enjoyed writing it!

**Chapter 5- Art Class**

Endo Tetsuya had the rewarding job of being Seishun Gakuen's Art teacher. Being the art fanatic that he was, he immediately accepted the job as soon it was offered to him, thinking that it was a great opportunity to mold younger talents to their full potential.

Sadly, he was mistaken. Well, not entirely, but on some fronts, yes, he was utterly mistaken.

While there were some talented students that he had taken under his wing and taught them all they needed to know to improve their own styles of art, the other students that he had in his class were safe to say, impossible to be saved from their dooms. Even if he had found diamonds and a few other precious gems, there would always be some lump of useless rocks among the bunch.

The worst of them all was Tezuka Kunimitsu, someone who supposedly held the brunt of the usually mild Endo-sensei's anger. Staff and students didn't know what to make of it since Tezuka NEVER got in trouble with teachers. When asked, the art teacher would explain that, quote, "That brat is the most insufferable student I have ever had in my few years of teaching! He doesn't _know_ how it is to express oneself in art and I am starting to wonder if he will turn worse than Fujiwara-san! Honestly! His art is lifeless! It has no feelings or emotions whatsoever!" unquote.

Tezuka was strict on punctuality and was usually the first one to arrive in most of his classes if he didn't have particular duties to take care of. Endo-sensei seethed at another thought of the boy.

"Top student… hah!" he grumbled under his breath. "If it wasn't for the fact that he can make decent work from time to time, I would've made sure that his grades are _failing_ in my subject!"

He ran a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair in exasperation then placed down his mug on the table and fixed the messy stacks of papers on his desk. He caught sight of the small notification letter sent out to every teacher and staff in the school. It was about the blind new student. He grabbed his glasses from where it hung on his shirt and placed it on. When Endo first read it, his chest tightened at the thought of someone blind, not being able to see the beauty of the world.

* * *

This morning when he went in the teacher's lounge, he caught sight of a small crowd of his co-workers around Nakamura, all of them listening as the eccentric teacher told them about the new student in her class.

"Oh he's a darling! Such a cute boy, Echizen Ryoma is, you're all gonna love him," she said, gushing in delight as she thought once again of the new student.

"I really wanna see him now," another female teacher, Tsuyuri Natsumi of Home Economics was blushing, obviously caught up with the new student like Nakamura was. "A pity he's blind though."

"Oh you shouldn't be saying that, Ryoma-kun can handle himself pretty well, only now and I can already tell. At least he has Tezuka-kun to help him out!"

"You should really stop it with the boy, Nakamura-kun," Fujiwara Ryotarou, the demon of Japanese History, as he was called by his students. His dark as midnight hair and eyes on pale skin made him all the more creepy despite his tasteful features."Tezuka-kun has enough duties as he is, that boy. You should lay off him. It wouldn't be good for his health."

"Just let Nakamura do what she wants. It's her class anyway," Endo finally decided to add his own two cents in. "It's really a treasure to hear you worry about one student when you don't give a damn about the others. You're obvious favoritism on that Tezuka-_boy_ is uncalled for."

"Well you're obvious dislike for him is also uncalled for," the stern teacher in retaliation. "All I hear is you ranting about him not having enough _feelings_ in his work when the boy is clearly an intelligent lad! He doesn't need your crackpot subject, you—"

"And that's enough you two! No more hissing at each other like scorned PMS-ing women would over their lovers," Nakamura went between the two of them and pushed them apart, effectively stopping their fight. "No need to fight over my dear Tezuka-kun."

The small crowd of teachers had dispersed somewhere in the middle of their fight, not wanting to see another Endo-Fujiwara argument over Tezuka Kunimitsu, the prized honor student of Seigaku. Now the two teachers were glaring quite venomously at each other, ignoring Nakamura who stayed between them, acting peacemaker.

Finally, Fujiwara, stating that he was being the better man ("You are not!" Endo protested.), stopped their childish glaring and packed the materials he needed for his next class. "I'll see you later, Nakamura," he gave her a curt nod and turned cold eyes at Endo. "Rot in hell," he said before leaving the room.

"Why that—" Endo was supposed to follow him and give him a piece of his mind but Nakamura grabbed the back of his shirt to prevent him from doing so.

"Woah, hold your horses there, tiger."

Endo did as he was told, not because he was accepting the fact that he was a tiger. Because he was not. At all.

"Can't you two stop it already? You've been arguing since we were children. Don't tell me you're still angry he stuffed onigiri down your pants when we were seven?"

Endo blushed when a few other teachers heard that and started snickering. He grabbed Nakamura and dragged her outside where he hissed at her, "Could you please not say that while there are other people in the room? The memory is embarrassing enough as it is."

"Oh come on! The three of us have been together through elementary, middle school, high school, and hell, even the same college! And you still haven't gotten along well… If I didn't know better, this is an advanced case of denial."

"Would you please stop saying that! You're making it sound like me and that demon is a couple!"

"Are you?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Of course not!" Endo denied with absolute abhorrence on his face.

Nakamura said something under her breath that suspiciously sounded like, "This is one tough couple to match make. To be able to elude my skills for so long… no wonder they're my best friends," made Endo wonder once again why he stayed friends with her.

But a sudden smile overtook her features. "Anyway, you should really stop arguing with Fujiwara-kun, it's not really good for your health. You should also stop it with my beloved student unless you want to wake up in the middle of nowhere. I take good care of each of my student, you know!"

"Gotcha…" he couldn't say anymore.

"Good!" she chirped cheerfully.

Endo looked at his watch and told his friend since forever, "I have to go now. I still have to prepare the Art room for my next class."

"You do that," Nakamura said to him, making shooing motions with her hand as she herself went back to the teacher's lounge.

The Art teacher shook his head and started walking away but Nakamura's head popped out from the room and called to him, "You're gonna love my new baby!"

"Your new baby?" he asked, confused.

"Ryoma-chan, of course! He's my new baby and you should expect him in your Art class. I'm sure you'll be taken with him like the others will be."

He smirked at her, "Only if he ensnares the demon Fujiwara."

"Oh, I'm sure my baby will do just that. But don't be jealous when it actually happens okay? I'm sure Ryoma-chan never would mean to get in between the two of you."

"Fujiwara and I are not lovers!" he shrieked so loud that other teachers peeked out of their classrooms, along with some students to see the commotion that was happening in the hallway.

Nakamura's mad cackles followed his red face all the way to the Art room.

* * *

Endo sighed. All this excitement was not good for his heart. One of these days, Nakamura would be the death of him with all her eccentricity.

He heard a knock on the door and his features morphed into a scowl as he remembered who he was thinking about just a while ago. 'It's probably the damn brat.'

"The door's open," he managed to say without contempt.

"We're coming in."

And the door opened to reveal his most hated student of all. It took all of Endo's willpower not to seethe at the boy every time he saw his _emotionless _face.

Tezuka bowed at the waist, greeting him politely. Well, if the boy was polite then Endo would be a jerk to be impolite in return. "Just pick whatever sit you like, Tezuka-kun," he said, motioning to the many empty chairs scattered around the room.

But the boy just stood there. He was about to ask if the boy wanted something when he finally noticed the other smaller boy beside the honor student. 'Is he… Echizen Ryoma-kun?'

"Uhm… I-I'm…" the boy stuttered, his undeniably beautiful face reddening in embarrassment.

Endo decided to save the boy from anymore of it and stood up to move to Ryoma. "You must be the new student." Ryoma nodded in confirmation. "Everybody's been talking about you. You've turned into quite the celebrity in such a short time." The art teacher ruffled his soft, ebony hair as the boy blushed even further.

"Aa," Tezuka said softly beside them.

Endo would have usually ignored the brown-haired student but the softness he heard in his voice was unusual and raised his head to look at Tezuka's face. What he saw was something he never expected to see on this particular person's face. It was a smile. Although small and barely noticeable, there was the existence of a _smile _on the hailed expressionless student. The art teacher turned to the little blind boy before him. 'Could it be… because of Ryoma-kun?'

Looking between the two boys, he thought to himself, 'Maybe this year will be different.'

* * *

For whatever reason Tezuka didn't know, Endo-sensei was being nice to him.

Since his first year, he had the man as his Art teacher without fail. And without fail, Endo-sensei would keep his end of the deal: to criticize his art works. Of course, no other teacher had done it to him since he had done well in all their subjects. But Endo-sensei was different. He told him all his faults and shortcomings in Art class, without any hesitation and second-thoughts.

And it was in the spring of his first year in middle school that Tezuka Kunimitsu decided that even though History (with Fujiwara-sensei) was his favorite subject, Endo Tetsuya (teaching Art) was his favorite teacher. He was his role model. Just like Yamato-buchou. And even though sometimes Endo-sensei would look at him distastefully or tell something scathing about his work, he would take it all in and admire the man even more than before. It was all because of Endo-sensei that he was able to become the stoic, hard-willed, strong-faced Tezuka that everybody knew today. All his harsh words were good for building character!

And he wasn't masochistic to say the least.

Please note the sarcasm.

And that was where their weird relationship of admiration-and-despise started. Tezuka didn't mind it all but now, he thought, as Endo-sensei finally treated him like he would the rest of the class, he might've improved. And the thought brought great joy to him to finally be able to do something right in the eyes of his idol after two years of scorn.

Endo-sensei greeted all of them cheerfully and Tezuka thought that there was an extra cheerful grin sent in his and Ryoma's direction. What was supposed to be, 'It's nice to finally see some smiles on your face, Tezuka-kun,' was translated by Tezuka's poor idol-distraught mind as, 'You've finally improved past your limits. I'm very, very proud of you, Tezuka-kun.'

It made Tezuka feel as if he was the same, naïve first year student with the doe eyes and the is-it-there-because-I-can't-see-the-damn-lenses-unlike-what-that-creepy-data-collecting-kid-has glasses (which he still wore) that he was before.

He was brought out of his musings when the class started shouting. He was about to reprimand them for misconduct during class hours (and during his favorite teacher's class too!) when his mind finally processed what it was they were shouting about.

"Ryoma-chan says that he can sculpt, sensei!" a boy at the back said, his passé echoing his claim.

"Do you really?" Endo-sensei asked, directing his question to Ryoma who sat beside Tezuka.

"Yes, sir," he said demurely.

The blonde teacher seemed to think about his decision for a moment before shrugging, "Since we're doing portraits of each other… why not?"

Everybody in the room either cheered or giggled at the opportunity to finally be able to witness one of Ryoma's talents at work and even Tezuka himself gave a small, unnoticeable whoop of 'yes!'

"All of you will be paired up with another classmate but since we have an uneven number, Kenichi, I expect you to behave with your passé," the art teacher stopped to hear the loud 'yes' from his basketball-playing student before continuing. "You will draw your partner… well, sculpt your partner, for Ryoma's case." He smiled at the blind boy as he said so. "And when the bell rings, I expect all your works on my desk by then. If it's not finished, we'll continue it next week but under no circumstances will I see a face of a horned devil when I wanted you to draw your classmates. Okay class?"

"But sensei, what if they look like a horned devil?" Kenichi asked from the back. He was giggling madly on his seat and one of his friends elbowed him on the side jokingly.

"What? I never knew that someone looked like Fujiwara-sensei here. Is there really?"

All of the class laughed hysterically while the blonde art teacher smiled good-naturedly at them.

Amidst it all, Ryoma was confused and asked Tezuka, "Why is Endo-sensei being mean to Fujiwara-sensei? Did something happen between them?"

"Endo-sensei and Fujiwara-sensei have always fought with each other but I think it's all in good will. They've been at it for as long as I remember," Tezuka explained calmly.

When the class settled, Endo-sensei grouped all of them into pairs and kept Echizen and Tezuka together, despite the class's protest that they wanted to be paired with Ryoma.

"Now, now, class. You're making Tezuka-kun jealous, asking to have Ryoma for yourselves!"

As a whole, everybody looked at Tezuka just to see his reaction but was met with a closed stare and a raised eyebrow. There was silence for a few moments before everyone burst into unexplainable laughter.

Ryoma asked Tezuka between giggles, "Are you?"

The stoic boy looked at his companion before leaning in to whisper into his ear, "Maybe a little bit."

To which Ryoma laughed even more.

* * *

After their laughing fiasco was over, Endo-sensei gave Ryoma a big lump of modeling clay and a small round desk to work on. "Here you go. Hope you make one wonderful work of art!"

"Arigatou, sensei!" Ryoma smiled widely at where he heard Endo-sensei's voice and the teacher smiled back in return before sending Tezuka another one of his 'misinterpreted' smiles and returning to his seat.

"So," Tezuka started, "How do you sculpt?"

Ryoma, who was in the process of examining his clay with his hands, told his seatmate, "Since it's your sculpture I'm making, I think it's fair to tell you what I'll do.

"I'm going to use my hands to see you."

All Tezuka could do was raise his eyebrows in confusion and surprise. "I don't follow."

"Since I can't very well use my eyes, I'm going to use my hands to see what I can't. With my hands, I'll be able to get a feel of what you look like then I'm going to shape the clay into what I felt. Got it?"

"I think so."

"Are we ready to get started?"

"Aa."

Almost immediately, one of Ryoma's hands flew up to, _dare I say it_, caress Tezuka's face. His soft, rose-scented hands touched Tezuka's face with such gentleness that Tezuka found it hard to fight the blush that was creeping up his neck and spreading on his cheeks.

"Kunimitsu, you're heating up!" this caught the attention of some of his eavesdropping classmates, their ears leaning in to hear more. 'Those busybodies,' Tezuka thought as he glared at them with the best of his abilities without moving his head. He was successful since most of them cowed and returned to drawing.

"Are you alright, Kunimitsu?" Ryoma's worried voice floated over the angry haze in his mind.

Tezuka turned his eyes to him and relaxed in Ryoma's hands, as both had found their way to both his cheeks and his lips upturned into a smile. "I'm alright, it's nothing really. Let's just continue or we might not finish our works."

"You're right. I really hope it's not bothering you. Me touching your face like this."

"It's not a problem, really."

When Ryoma smiled at him again and started caressing his face in _that_ manner again, Tezuka wondered to himself if _he_ could finish his _own_ portrait of Ryoma.

He thought to himself, no. He wouldn't.

TBC

**A/N: **I'm baaaack! From the dead! No, I'm just joking. But I am back my dear readers and under the new name, Calator! Hope you don't expect me to be more punctual because I won't be! BEWARE! I'm still as lazy as ever. But I am trying to keep everything good. And will never post a half-baked story. Promise. Everything has gone through 12-hours in the oven, seriously.


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